Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Sorry Angel (Plaire, Aimer et Courir Vite) is a drama about a gay man with AIDS who is coming to terms with his mortality. It’s set in 1993.
Jacques (Pierre Deladonchamps) is a 39-year-old gay Parisienne man living with AIDS. He spends his days flirting with a possible relationship with Jean Marie (Quentin Thébault), raising his son, Louis (Tristan Farge), and spending time with his neighbor, Mathieu (Denis Podalydès). One night, while hanging out with Mathieu, Jacque’s ex-lover, Marco (Thomas Gonzalez), calls. , looking for a place to stay because his lover, Thierry, has rejected him. Jacques doesn’t pick up the phone and instead listens as Marco asks if he can stay with him because he’s arguing with his lover, Thierry. Mathieu tells him not to let him stay, so Jacques doesn’t return his call.
Later, Jacques travels Brittany for work, where he meets Arthur (Vincent Lacoste), a college student who recently came out of the closet. Although he and Arthur hit it off, Jacques is resistant to start a relationship with him due to his AIDS diagnosis. Despite this, when Jacques goes home, he and Arthur keep in touch and make plans for Arthur to spend time with him in Paris.
Meanwhile, Marco visits and they discuss Marco’s failing health and the possibility of ending his life on his own terms. This is something they’d both talked about when they were a couple, so the news isn’t surprising to Jacques. This also gets him thinking about his own mortality. And between that and Arthur’s pending arrival, things begin to get complicated.
Some Thoughts:
Sorry Angel is an interesting story that suffers from a lack of focus. It opens by defining Jacques as a selfish man going through life with little care, despite having a young son who he shares custody with a close friend, Isabelle (Sophie Letourneur). Although it’s clear that his selfishness stems from his having HIV and that his ex-lover isn’t doing well physically and emotionally, he’s still not very likeable.
While all the above is more than enough for a thought-provoking film, there’s too much that bogs the story down before it gets going. For instance, the minor relationships aren’t well defined, especially the one between Jacques and Jean Marie. Neither man feels fully invested in the other, making it unclear why it’s even a part of the movie. On top of that, Jacques is a single father who doesn’t seem to give his son any consideration. I wouldn’t have an issue with this if the relationship was explored, but it’s not. And in the end, all Jean Maire and Louis do is distract from the story rather than enhance it.
Aside from all that, the acting, direction, pacing, and cinematography are all decent. If the script had been trimmed down to just the essentials, this would have been a great film.
The Final Verdict:
Sorry Angel is a compelling drama that suffers from too much going on at once. It does discuss suicide, so you may want to avoid it if that’s a trigger for you.